victory is mine
I won an argument with my dad today (thanks to the Oxford English Dictionary) about the proper definition of the word inflammable.
So, why do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? Apparently, inflammable is the time-tested term. Flammable is a much more modern synonym, no record of which exists before the mid-nineteenth century.
The confusion results from the fact that the in in inflammable is often thought to be a prefix meaning not; however, it is in this case part of the root inflame, and can't be separated from it. If something can be inflamed, it is inflammable. If something can't be inflamed, the proper term is nonflammable.
However, unless you want to confuse people who don't have online subscriptions to the Oxford English Dictionary, I wouldn't recommend using the word inflammable without explaining yourself.
I also learned the proper definitions of bemused and nonplussed this week. I thought I already knew what they meant, but it turns out learning from context is not all it's cracked up to be. Bemused means bewildered, and nonplussed is properly defined as confused. Popular usage, however, commonly refers to bemused as a synonym of amused, and defines nonplussed as something like unperterbed or unconcerned. So if I, as an almost 24-year-old college graduate, learned the improper definitions of these words through observation of common usage, at what point would it be wise to begin considering the commonly used definitions of these words as their proper definitions?
So, why do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? Apparently, inflammable is the time-tested term. Flammable is a much more modern synonym, no record of which exists before the mid-nineteenth century.
The confusion results from the fact that the in in inflammable is often thought to be a prefix meaning not; however, it is in this case part of the root inflame, and can't be separated from it. If something can be inflamed, it is inflammable. If something can't be inflamed, the proper term is nonflammable.
However, unless you want to confuse people who don't have online subscriptions to the Oxford English Dictionary, I wouldn't recommend using the word inflammable without explaining yourself.
I also learned the proper definitions of bemused and nonplussed this week. I thought I already knew what they meant, but it turns out learning from context is not all it's cracked up to be. Bemused means bewildered, and nonplussed is properly defined as confused. Popular usage, however, commonly refers to bemused as a synonym of amused, and defines nonplussed as something like unperterbed or unconcerned. So if I, as an almost 24-year-old college graduate, learned the improper definitions of these words through observation of common usage, at what point would it be wise to begin considering the commonly used definitions of these words as their proper definitions?
posted by stoerzie at
3:11 PM
